I spent the morning cramming all of my belongings into my suddenly super small suitcases. So naturally, that meant I spent a lot of time throwing things away. Without any sort of environmental consciousness, I just threw everything I didn't want into plastic bags.
Apparently recycling laws are more stringent in Spain than they are in America. (Do they even exist in America?) Mercedes informed me that if you are caught throwing a way a bunch of paper, you can get fined. So we separated out the paper and plastics into separate piles for recycling.
Then she told me she has to take my burned-out hair-dryer (oooops, adapter) to a "punto limpio," which translates to "clean point" to dispose of it. So she took that with her on her way to her daughter's house this afternoon.
And finally, she offered to take my unwanted clothes and shoes to donate to church tomorrow morning. So now those things won't go to waste.
I never realized so much thought can go into trash, and thanks to Mercedes, I am leaving Madrid in a much more environmentally-friendly manner.
I am a recycle freak!! Buddy gets mad because when we go on trips I take all the recycle items back home with me! It should be like it is in Spain here in the USA! Reduce recycle reuse! Love it. I only throw something away if i feel like no one else in the world could use it. told you u was a freak but i am sure you already knew that, Love AD2
ReplyDeleteCan't speak for Spain, but in the U.S. I think it is much more regional than anything, and it's a mindset that if you grow up with, it's second nature. Living in the South and Midwest, I've met so many people who couldn't care less about recycling, or just don't get it - thinking a contaminated paper cup or pizza box can be tossed in with newspaper to be recycled.
ReplyDeleteBut there's also an infrastructure for it in the Northeast. If you live in Nashville, you have to bring recycling items to a few centers around town, and at Vandy, there's not even a way to recycle glass on campus. At home outside Boston, we have had weekly recycling pickup for as long as I can remember - and in a lot of towns, you now have to pay-per-trash bag for stuff that you aren't recycling. That's the closest to fining that I've heard of in the U.S.